Penn State University Field Hockey announces their 2018 schedule

Penn State's Moira Putsch (18) during the game with Iowa. The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team defeated Iowa, 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Big Ten Field Hockey Championship Tournament at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on October 29, 2017.
Photo by Mark Selders

UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team, under the guidance of head coach Char Morett-Curtiss, will play nine home games in 2018 as the new schedule has been announced. The Nittany Lions open the season in August and look to conclude the campaign in November in the NCAA Championships.

The season begins on Sunday, August 26, when Penn State hosts Virginia at 12 p.m. at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. The game against the Cavaliers is the first of nine home dates on the schedule. Penn State treks to Temple on Friday, Aug. 31, for a 6 p.m. game to finish off the August portion of the schedule. September begins with a busy three-game week. The Nittany Lions host Princeton on Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 p.m. and welcome Kent State for a 4 p.m. contest on Friday, Sept. 7. The busy opening week ends with a contest against Duke, hosted by Temple in Philadelphia, on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 10:30 a.m.

The Nittany Lions open up Big Ten competition on Friday, Sept. 14, at Ohio State in a game that starts at 4 p.m. The team then takes on Boston University in a game hosted by the University of Maryland on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 11 p.m. Penn State hosts two Big Ten contests the next week, welcoming Michigan to the Field Hockey Complex on Friday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. and Michigan State on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 12 p.m. The Lions close out September by visiting Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 28, at 3 p.m. before hosting James Madison two days later on Sunday, Sept. 30, at 12 p.m.

Penn State begins October with a home Big Ten game against Maryland on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 12 p.m. The Nittany Lions then hit the road for two Big Ten road contests, at Iowa on Friday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m. (Eastern) and at Northwestern on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. (Eastern). Penn State will close out the regular season with two home games. The Lions host Big Ten foe Indiana on Friday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. and Bucknell on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. in the regular season finale.

The post-season begins on Sunday, Oct. 28, with the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, hosted on campus sites. The Big Ten Tournament’s bracketed portion (quarterfinals on) will be hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.) on Nov. 2-4. The 2018 NCAA Championships opening rounds take place on Nov. 10-11 with the NCAA Championships (semifinals and finals) at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.

“We are very excited about our schedule this year,” Morett-Curtiss said. “It’s always a challenge to open up against some perennially tough teams like Virginia, Duke, and Princeton early on in the season but that type of competition gets us ready for the season ahead. We’ve also added Boston University which will give us a look at the Patriot League Champions as well. The Big Ten Conference will be incredibly tough with every team coming in a little more fortified.